Outliers
by Malcolm Gladwell
Gladwell's stories of success as the product of timing, culture, opportunity and ten thousand hours of practice: hockey birthdays, Bill Gates' computer access, airline crews, rice paddies. The ten-thousand-hour rule has been oversimplified (by readers and somewhat by the author); the broader case that context shapes achievement is well made and humbling.
Read it if…
you want an entertaining counterweight to the myth of the self-made success.
Skip it if…
you want advice; the book is explanation, and it implies you control less than you think.
Three things you will actually use
- Recognize your advantages honestly.
- Create opportunity for others; it is how outliers were made.
- Practice counts, and so do the conditions for it.
Do this first
Write down the three luckiest breaks in your own story and whom they came from.
Our verdict
Engaging and oversimplified; worth reading for the perspective.
Compare with other Mindset books
Drive
Daniel H. Pink · Mindset
Clear and influential; the standard introduction to intrinsic motivation.
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Peak
Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool · Mindset
The real science behind practice; essential for anyone serious about skill.
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The Talent Code
Daniel Coyle · Mindset
Vivid and practical; the stories outlast the science.
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